# Savinelli "Bings Favorite" Rusticated



## Jeff10236

I've long wanted a longer than normal pipe. I have often been just on the verge of buying a churchwarden, but they are usually so long as to be impractical and would probably only be smoked very occasionally. The Sav Bings Favorite models hit my radar a little less than a year ago and they seemed the perfect compromise- longer and a little different, but short enough to pass regular pipe cleaners and to be smoked outside the house. I watched for sales and availability for the past 6 months, but hadn't bought one until recently. It came a couple days ago.

It is a beautiful pipe. I bought the rusticated, which I think Savinelli does particularly well (I have several of their rusticated pipes), but it also comes in their smooth, Punto Oro, sandblasted, natural, Soiree (black/ebony), and black and white finishes. The rusticated has a nice rusticated reddish brown finish, a smooth finish rim, a nice gold tone band, and a acrylic cumberland style stem. A real (vulcanite) cumberland stem looks better than an acrylic one, but it is a nice swirly light/dark brown design. The lines are perfect- it is a well proportioned 1/4 bent billiard which just happens to be an inch or two longer than the typical pipe.










It is well constructed, and was a terrific buy at $80 (new). It easily passes a pipe cleaner (when the filter/balsa insert is taken out of course) and is drilled straight, with the draw hole falling perfectly in the middle and bottom of the bowl. With the length of the pipe it is surprisingly light, and with the fairly thick bit, light weight, and 1/4 bent, it actually clenches nicely.









(not a great photo of the pipe, but in this bathroom mirror photo you can see how easily it clenches).

At first, I wasn't sure what I'd smoke out of it, but it quickly became apparent that this is an aromatic pipe. Something about the look says "aromatic" to me, but from a practical perspective it is a terrific aro pipe. The length means it should smoke cool so it is well suited to tobaccos that sometimes smoke hot like many aros, Virginias, and VaPers. However, it is proportional, so the bowl holds a lot more tobacco than one might expect on first glance, so it might be tough with a high nicotine VA/VaPer. Last, the balsa filter is a good feature for sometimes wet aromatic tobaccos.

So, last night I loaded it up (fully, no halfway for break-in) and smoked it (twice). It smokes terrific. The draw is just about perfect, it smokes as cool as I suspected it would, and the length and balsa filter kept all moisture from being an issue.

Overall, I am very happy with this pipe. I can see it quickly becoming a favorite, and will have to fight it out with my Peterson Kilarney, my Karl Eric freehand, and my Sav Saturnia for the position of favorite aromatic pipe.


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## El Gringo

Nice review. I got mine ( smooth ) about a little over a month ago.
I had been doing test runs with Tilbury, but havent dedecated it yet... perhaps G & H Kendal flake?


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## Senator

I have the same one that you have. Very nice looking pipe but I have to say it's not one of my favourites and will most likely be up for sale. I could never find a tobacco that I enjoyed smoking in it.


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## Jeff10236

El ****** said:


> Nice review. I got mine ( smooth ) about a little over a month ago.
> I had been doing test runs with Tilbury, but havent dedecated it yet... perhaps G & H Kendal flake?


Thanks.

G&H would be brave in this pipe. The bowl can hold 1 1/2 to 2 times what many regular sized pipes can hold. G&H has a tendency to be high in nicotine. I thought about this pipe with my Lakelands (I am really on a Lakeland kick these days), but the thought of my head swimming after so much of it changed my mind.

I probably will buy an actual churchwarden or two with a standard sized bowl and use that/those as a Va/VaPer and/or Lakeland pipe.



Senator said:


> I have the same one that you have. Very nice looking pipe but I have to say it's not one of my favourites and will most likely be up for sale. I could never find a tobacco that I enjoyed smoking in it.


Have you tried it with an aro? It really seems to be a great aro pipe. With how much the bowl holds it would be tough with a high nicotine tobacco like many Virginias and VaPers, but aros usually aren't too high in nicotine. Then, several features of this pipe can help tame some of the excesses of many aros (the length gives some cooling properties for a hot aro and the balsa insert helps with wet aros).


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## Senator

Jeff10236 said:


> Have you tried it with an aro? It really seems to be a great aro pipe. With how much the bowl holds it would be tough with a high nicotine tobacco like many Virginias and VaPers, but aros usually aren't too high in nicotine. Then, several features of this pipe can help tame some of the excesses of many aros (the length gives some cooling properties for a hot aro and the balsa insert helps with wet aros).


The bowl of the Bing's Favorite is much smaller than 3/4 of my pipes of which I smoke some pretty heavy hitters.

I prefer burleys...most aromatics just don't cut it for me...although, I keep my eye out for one that does!


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## Jeff10236

Senator said:


> The bowl of the Bing's Favorite is much smaller than 3/4 of my pipes of which I smoke some pretty heavy hitters.
> 
> I prefer burleys...most aromatics just don't cut it for me...although, I keep my eye out for one that does!


Hmm, so you have a high nicotine tolerance? I may have overestimated the capacity a little. It isn't _that_ huge a pipe, the bowl is a little bigger than average, maybe 25% more capacity than average (the total length is stretched an inch or two, and the bowl is proportional). Still, it is bigger than normal, so if it is smaller than most of your pipes, I'm guessing you mostly smoke freehands or some of the oversized Italian pipes?

Anyway, if you have a bit of a nicotine tolerance, and often smoke high nic tobaccos in bigger pipes, that obviously isn't the issue. I think this would also make a terrific English pipe, but most English tobaccos have mild enough smoking qualities that many of the advantages of the longer pipe are unnecessary.

Ah, it's a nice pipe, but whether we like a particular pipe can be very subjective. Plus, briar is a natural substance, even the best makers can put together a pipe with a specific piece of briar that just doesn't work quite right. Well, so much is personal preference, and we won't all like the same thing, that is why there are so many different styles of pipes out there.


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## TonyBrooklyn

Use it in good health Enjoy bro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Senator

Jeff10236 said:


> Hmm, so you have a high nicotine tolerance? I may have overestimated the capacity a little. It isn't _that_ huge a pipe, the bowl is a little bigger than average, maybe 25% more capacity than average (the total length is stretched an inch or two, and the bowl is proportional). Still, it is bigger than normal, so if it is smaller than most of your pipes, I'm guessing you mostly smoke freehands or some of the oversized Italian pipes?
> 
> Anyway, if you have a bit of a nicotine tolerance, and often smoke high nic tobaccos in bigger pipes, that obviously isn't the issue. I think this would also make a terrific English pipe, but most English tobaccos have mild enough smoking qualities that many of the advantages of the longer pipe are unnecessary.
> 
> Ah, it's a nice pipe, but whether we like a particular pipe can be very subjective. Plus, briar is a natural substance, even the best makers can put together a pipe with a specific piece of briar that just doesn't work quite right. Well, so much is personal preference, and we won't all like the same thing, that is why there are so many different styles of pipes out there.


I smoke a lot of XL Petersons, Jake Hackerts, Custom-bilts...and commissioned pipes. I prefer my bowls to be 7/8" and at least 1 1/2" to 2" deep.

I would I have a fairly good tolerance to nicotene. That, or I'm a sucker for punishment!! Ha ha!

As I said, I do really like the look of the pipe..but it just doesn't smoke the way I'd like it to. Then again, I've purchased pipes from others where the same was true for them...but they smoked excellent for me!


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## quo155

Great review Jeff...this really helps me as I continue my quest for "The Pipe"...and since I smoke mainly aromatics, I was especially happy to hear how, to you (& I have to agree)...it yells "Aromatics"!

Thanks brother!


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## MrRogers

Savinelli Bing is a nice pipe but I'd suggest you try a churchwarden as well. They are great pipes that smoke super-cool. Surely you'd look a little strange in public but when I sit down to smoke at home I generally go for a stanwell churchwarden. Savinelli makes one for under 100$ that gets generally good reviews as well. 

Enjoy the bing!

MrR


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## FLIPFLOPS_AND_SHADES

We have almost the exact same Bing! It's beautiful and I have only smoked it twice since I received it. 

My personal opinion is that the bowl is somewhat small(er) than some of my other pipes but this is a model that I have wanted for a long time.

I have 3 Churchwardens and love them. In fact, if I never buy another type of pipe it would be Churchwardens. They aren't for everyone--I definitely am not a "clincher" as I like to hold my pipes in my hand.

I recommend that you get a nice Churchwarden!!!! layball:


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## Marc Romero

Before I became a Dr. Grabow enthusiast, I owned (3) " Bing's Favorite" rusticated pipes like yours, mine were all dedicated to McClelland Matured Virginias and they did an excellent job with those tobaccos.


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## Smoke King David

Yep, that Bing looks really nice. I found a smooth Bing at my local B&M and am very tempted to get myself a Christmas gift! 

Prior to this thread, the only opinion I heard about Bings Favorites was from the owner of a now-defunct online shop (Frenchys Pipes)...he smoked Virginias and English blends and he said that this pipe smoked just great, right from the start.


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## Jeff10236

Smoke King David said:


> Yep, that Bing looks really nice. I found a smooth Bing at my local B&M and am very tempted to get myself a Christmas gift!
> 
> Prior to this thread, the only opinion I heard about Bings Favorites was from the owner of a now-defunct online shop (Frenchys Pipes)...he smoked Virginias and English blends and he said that this pipe smoked just great, right from the start.


Thank you, it is a really nice pipe. I like VA/Vapers, English and aromatic tobaccos. For most of the past year or so I've been mostly smoking English tobaccos, though the months before I bought this pipe I have been picking VAs and Vapers most of the time when deciding on a smoke. Well, since I bought this pipe and dedicated it to aros, I've found myself smoking mostly aros simply so I can smoke this pipe. I have over 40 pipes now and this has definitely been my favorite the past couple months (and I have some really nice pipes- Ser Jacopo, Radice, high end Petersons). It really is a nice pipe and I can't recommend them enough for anyone who is intested in one.


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